So, today, at this dusk, Samuel Bennett finally appeared here.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

In the blink of an eye! Just as the teahouse owner was about to drive Samuel Bennett away.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened on the main road in front of the teahouse.

Accompanied by a sharp whistling of wind, dozens of arrows suddenly appeared in midair, raining down on the moving carriage from all directions.

In an instant, the carriage screeched to a halt, hooves clattered, and the horses neighed in panic.

The coachman, however, did not panic. He leaned forward, stepped onto the horse’s back, steadied the reins with one hand, and with the other drew a saber from beside the saddle, swinging it skillfully to easily deflect the arrows coming at him from the front.

He was not hit by a single arrow.

Nor were the horses.

But the carriage behind him was riddled with more than a dozen holes... Yet, judging by the coachman’s calm expression, he didn’t seem at all worried about the people inside the carriage.

“Ah!” Only after the rain of arrows stopped did the teahouse owner finally react, letting out a startled cry and diving behind a water jar at the edge of the teahouse to crouch down.

The common folk of this world have seen plenty of fighting and killing among the people of the jianghu, so they all know that at times like this, it’s best to hide or run if you can, to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

“Whoa~ Judging by this setup, there must be at least seven or eight people in ambush.” Samuel Bennett didn’t react much at all. Not only did he not get up from his chair, he even picked up the big teapot the owner had just left on the table and poured himself some more tea.

“Kid! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Why aren’t you hiding?” The teahouse owner, seeing Samuel Bennett still sitting there so relaxed, kindly whispered a warning.

“Hey~ Boss, don’t panic. The arrows aren’t aimed at us anyway.” Samuel Bennett said, taking another sip of tea.

While the two of them were talking, just as Samuel Bennett had predicted, eight masked men leapt out from the woods on both sides of the road and in the blink of an eye surrounded the carriage in the middle of the road.

“Hmph... Where did these rats come from?” The coachman, seeing himself surrounded, remained fearless and snorted coldly, “Do you know who’s inside this carriage?”

A moment later, one of the masked men stepped forward and replied with a sneer, “Heh... What do you think?”

It seemed this man was the leader of the attackers.

As the saying goes, to catch the thief, catch the leader first. The coachman clearly understood this, so he didn’t hesitate. Almost as soon as the other finished speaking, he leapt from the horse, gathered strength in his wrist, and struck down from midair with a move called “Splitting Mount Hua,” aiming straight for the leader’s skull.

“Nice blade work~” Samuel Bennett, watching from the side, couldn’t help but praise, “This move may be simple, but it’s not something those second- or third-rate types could handle.”

Before he finished speaking, the masked leader had already caught the coachman’s blade—and not with a weapon, but with his bare hands, using the “barehanded against a blade” technique.

“Whoa, impressive!” Samuel Bennett exclaimed, “That’s some internal strength from the Yin Three Paths, with a foundation in soft techniques, right?”

As he spoke, the coachman and the leader exchanged several more moves. The former’s saber techniques were fierce and forceful, while the latter’s fists and palms were elusive. It looked like their skills were evenly matched, and it would be hard to tell the winner within fifty moves.

Meanwhile, the remaining seven masked men ignored their leader and moved toward the carriage... It seemed they wanted to check if the person inside was really dead.

“Come on~ Why are you all so nervous? Even if the person inside is still alive, with so many of you, taking him down would be a piece of cake.” Samuel Bennett saw how cautious they were, hesitating to lift the bamboo curtain of the carriage, and couldn’t help but comment from the side.

“Hey! Kid! Are you crazy? Why are you butting in? What’s it got to do with you? Are you looking to die?” Even the teahouse owner couldn’t stand it anymore, and called out to Samuel Bennett in a low voice from a few meters away.

“What? I’m just giving a little commentary, what’s wrong with that?” Samuel Bennett turned to the teahouse owner, speaking righteously, “I just like to comment on what I see, is that a problem? I’m not getting involved, so what, are you going to fine me for stirring things up?”

At this point, he seemed to get even more into it, turning back to the masked men by the carriage and raising his voice: “Hey, I’m talking to you! How could seven people lose to one? Just go for the face and you’ll win, how could you possibly lose?”

“Shut up!” Finally, one of the masked men couldn’t take it anymore, turned around and glared at him viciously, shouting angrily.

“What’s your problem?” Samuel Bennett wasn’t afraid at all, and continued, “Damn it, I’m a professional commentator, okay? I’m analyzing the situation for you because you clearly don’t get it...”

“!” The masked man was so annoyed he couldn’t stand it, cursed, and simply turned to charge at Samuel Bennett, “I’ll shut you up!” he shouted, raising a hand to slap Samuel Bennett to death.

However...

“Pfft—”

Before his hand could come down, a mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth, staining the black cloth covering his face.

Then, he fell flat on his back to the ground, never to get up again...